Every TD reader should be turning on their local scanner stream to enjoy the police running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
All those kids, (and Childlike adults ;) ) running around OUTSIDE like they own the place... It's a madhouse I tell you A MADHOUSE!!!
On the up side, as a regular scanner listener, I have to say I'm impressed by how calmly my local PD is handling the situation. Mostly people hear the screw ups that make the news... You don't hear about officers calling out other officers for being idiots over the radio.
I'm having a blast watching this rollout and my kids, I used to play Ingress fairly heavily, (Niantic's precursor to Go) and the small scale hiccups of Ingress are in full bloom. (GPS spoofers, Human nature fueled rivalry and asshattery)
Once or twice a month for a while, you would hear a call go out on the police scanner, detailing a confused/suspicious person wandering around at odd hours with their phone out, the police would investigate, and you'd hear the saga end with "Just another Ingress player".
Some players get very aggressive about Ingress. Threats and stalking have been issues, (at a low level, the worst behavior gets the most attention, even if it's rare.)
Tomorrow I'm taking a gaggle of my eldest's friends out driving along the Columbia river, and Forest Park... and wherever else they wish to go on the hunt for rare pokemon.
The discussions about being aware of your surroundings and other people, cars, property will be nearly constant.
Something I've learned, I know the names of FAR too many Pokemon on sight, for a person who never played the games.
Be safe out there folks, Don't want your last thought to be "A wild Train uses Crush.... It's super effective!"
Few weeks ago after a phone call and online chat with Comcast detailing our refusal to upgrade to the X1 system, we received a large box from UPS, full of X1 equipment.
We called Comcast and found out that they had scheduled a tech visit to our house, without our permission or knowledge and apparently were going to just show up and try to talk us into it.
Their Rep swore they were going to call back (Oh really! Suuuure....) and of course, never did.
Of course, we can keep our legacy boxes, at $30 a month, That alone is almost half the price of switching to the local Microwave internet carrier. Even if their system barely works, it's becoming temping just to cut Comcast off entirely.
I go to 2 or 3 movies in the theater a year, and I'm catching Hateful Eight on the 27th in 70mm here. (Hollywood Theater in Portland!) It's enticing enough to get a grump like me out of my home theater.
Once in a while it's worth the experience, (Last one for me was Snowpiercer) the real butter popcorn and good beer don't hurt either.
Still doesn't change the fact that used projectors are now dirt cheap, and can be purchased for the cost of a few family movie nights.
Ex-90's RS guy in one of my first jobs. $250k+ seller in a Million dollar store. Was a decent living for a 20 year old.
They had Sprint branded stores in the late 90's, but braniacs that they were, they took over the front of the store to sell LAND LINE PHONES.
The real downfall was when they started making us sell Sprint branded long distance, that alienated a huge section of the customer base when 2 weeks after visiting a store their long distance service changed. I told my manager to shove it and kept selling phones and computers.
RS was a distributor of IBM branded products, (I used to sell a LOT of $6000 88 MHZ p2's... and I still feel bad about that). Back then you'd be fired for connecting online, which is ALL ANYBODY WANTED TO DO. I could sell the PC's like candy (one of the only people in the district) because I told the manager to fire me and replace me with someone who could match my numbers. (Never happened)
The Cells/Sprint PCS were huge business till the late 90's when plans changed, SMS and Internet happened, and instead of taking an hour in the store to activate a phone with 30 minutes a month on it, anyone could do it over a toll free number or at any number of kiosks that also sold pretzels.
They reduced the parts sections, the massive catalog for all the order-in bits. Goodbye Margins.
Then everyone started shopping online. It was hard enough 20+ years ago, when the malls would turn into sea of walking wallets. You don't need guys in a store with a catalog to find that variable resistor or actuator you need for your Sexbot (No sir, that's ok, I don't need to see it when it's completed.... ), and certainly not for batteries, or the same name brand stuff electronics you can find in a Fred Meyer next to the produce section.
I'll always have a soft spot for the place, between Zip-tying meth heads to the balcony when they were stealing the micro butane torches, to the discussion with the customer...
"You REALLY do need a computer between your keyboard and mouse... Yes I understand the gentleman at Goodwill told you you could go online to type your term paper... Ma'am, I know he said we could tell you how to hook them up, and what you need is a PC to do it... Absolutely! Let me give you the District Manager's direct line. "
You think these sorts of things are just bad IT jokes until you live it.
It was a good run, someone get 'ol Painless and take RS behind the shed.
Thanks for clarifying that, I noticed it but didn't have time to read the filing yet. was curious if it was a typo given what was displayed in the post itself.
You'd think someone willing to put this much effort into going after a 3 year old comment on a blog based on the other side of the world might take 10 seconds to see how they treated prior threat letters before sending one.
It's called due diligence. Good way to avoid Streisanding yourself
3 kids, and they haven't had to deal with commercial TV in 8 years or so.
Only thing my wife and I watch "live" now is Adult Swim. Don't care for most sports, Cable news is a joke, and the "educational" channels are more of a joke than the news.
Only reason we still have any traditional cable is that my 58 year old, recovering-from-multiple-strokes-and-organ-shutdown Mother in Law likes it, and even SHE has learned how to stream Netflix from her phone to the Chromecast/Fire stick. few more weeks and we'll cut everything but Internet.
The only reason I have a Yahoo owned address is that Yahoo bought Rocketmail to establish their entire email system.
I've had my Rocketmail address since 1996, and I'm loathe to relinquish it.
I have Yahoo locked down into "classic" mode, (no widgets or extras, but it works!) no Flash and no Java, and Adblock running on every single site (except Techdirt!)
I've seen no change in my stripped Yahoo mail. Of course, it's barely more than a field of white and some text now.
In ATT's defen **Hurrrk.... HRRRRRrrkkk** sorry almost lost my coffee...
In ATT's defense... I received a similar E-mail from Taco Bell years ago when asking them to consider making a taco with just black beans and potatoes in it. (not Vegetarian, just not into giant wads of grease)
It's a little sad that our society is so litigious that companies can't risk listening to their customers on the off chance that a particular customer will sue for stealing their idea if you use it.
Still a piss-poor choice to let the lawyer handle it like that.
A family friend brings bands to the US on tour from Africa, I've met the Mahotella Queens, and I've driven Hugh Masekela and Orchestra Virunga between tour locations here in Oregon.
(Hey guys, if you're reading this, family is good, Hope you make it back here eventually!)
They would be rather shocked to hear that Turkewitz does not apparently consider their work music.
One of the best conversations I've had in my life, (once they realized I could understand most of their French) and explained to them that the country is not ruled by the Pres, (GW at the time) and that half of us always disagree with the other half, openly, and consistently.
Oddly enough, Copyright was never one of the topics.
As a 5th generation Oregonian and Portland native, I saw her being installed as a kid, She's at 1120 SW 5th, tucked away in the shadows of what passes for skyscrapers here.
Copyright aside. it's a beautiful statue even though she looks like she's rolling dice.
As a 5th generation Oregonian and Portland native, I saw her being installed as a kid, She's at 1120 SW 5th, tucked away in the shadows of what passes for skyscrapers here.
Copyright it's a beautiful statue even though she looks like she's rolling dice.
On the post: Back By Popular Demand: Nerd Harder T-Shirts
(eldest) "Daddy I NEED one too!"
(payday comes)
"Shirt last available 3 days ago"
"NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
On the post: USOC Demands That Company Take Down Twitter Posts Of Olympic Athlete It Sponsors
Unless they add corpse-fishing to the events... Gold medal goes to whomever gets the largest torso out of the bay.
Bonus points if the limbs match the torso.
On the post: Pokemon Go Hysteria Again Highlights How Media Is Happy To Be Gullible And Wrong -- If It Means More Ad Eyeballs
Re: Re:
Every TD reader should be turning on their local scanner stream to enjoy the police running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
All those kids, (and Childlike adults ;) ) running around OUTSIDE like they own the place... It's a madhouse I tell you A MADHOUSE!!!
On the up side, as a regular scanner listener, I have to say I'm impressed by how calmly my local PD is handling the situation. Mostly people hear the screw ups that make the news... You don't hear about officers calling out other officers for being idiots over the radio.
On the post: Pokemon Go Hysteria Again Highlights How Media Is Happy To Be Gullible And Wrong -- If It Means More Ad Eyeballs
Once or twice a month for a while, you would hear a call go out on the police scanner, detailing a confused/suspicious person wandering around at odd hours with their phone out, the police would investigate, and you'd hear the saga end with "Just another Ingress player".
Some players get very aggressive about Ingress. Threats and stalking have been issues, (at a low level, the worst behavior gets the most attention, even if it's rare.)
Tomorrow I'm taking a gaggle of my eldest's friends out driving along the Columbia river, and Forest Park... and wherever else they wish to go on the hunt for rare pokemon.
The discussions about being aware of your surroundings and other people, cars, property will be nearly constant.
Something I've learned, I know the names of FAR too many Pokemon on sight, for a person who never played the games.
Be safe out there folks, Don't want your last thought to be "A wild Train uses Crush.... It's super effective!"
On the post: Should A Court Allow A Case To Disappear Entirely Because The Person Regrets Filing It?
Regret in leisure.
On the post: Should A Court Allow A Case To Disappear Entirely Because The Person Regrets Filing It?
Regret in leisure.
On the post: The Cable Industry Is Absolutely Terrified Of Set Top Box Competition
We called Comcast and found out that they had scheduled a tech visit to our house, without our permission or knowledge and apparently were going to just show up and try to talk us into it.
Their Rep swore they were going to call back (Oh really! Suuuure....) and of course, never did.
Of course, we can keep our legacy boxes, at $30 a month, That alone is almost half the price of switching to the local Microwave internet carrier. Even if their system barely works, it's becoming temping just to cut Comcast off entirely.
On the post: 56% Would Drop ESPN In A Heartbeat If It Meant Saving $8 A Month On Cable
Cartoon Network, mostly for adult swim, but if I want contrived television, I want the full monty
Comedy Central- Drunk history is awesome after a day of dealing with workplace injuries of varying gruesomeness.
Local channels
TV Japan.
That's really all we watch. Bring on A-la-carte!
On the post: Hateful Eight Pirated From The Inside, Widely Available, And It Won't Stop Its Success At The Box Office
Once in a while it's worth the experience, (Last one for me was Snowpiercer) the real butter popcorn and good beer don't hurt either.
Still doesn't change the fact that used projectors are now dirt cheap, and can be purchased for the cost of a few family movie nights.
On the post: RadioShack Attempts To Shock Itself Back Into Relevance Using Dumb Tactics From Five Years Ago
Before the Fall of Radioshack.
They had Sprint branded stores in the late 90's, but braniacs that they were, they took over the front of the store to sell LAND LINE PHONES.
The real downfall was when they started making us sell Sprint branded long distance, that alienated a huge section of the customer base when 2 weeks after visiting a store their long distance service changed. I told my manager to shove it and kept selling phones and computers.
RS was a distributor of IBM branded products, (I used to sell a LOT of $6000 88 MHZ p2's... and I still feel bad about that). Back then you'd be fired for connecting online, which is ALL ANYBODY WANTED TO DO. I could sell the PC's like candy (one of the only people in the district) because I told the manager to fire me and replace me with someone who could match my numbers. (Never happened)
The Cells/Sprint PCS were huge business till the late 90's when plans changed, SMS and Internet happened, and instead of taking an hour in the store to activate a phone with 30 minutes a month on it, anyone could do it over a toll free number or at any number of kiosks that also sold pretzels.
They reduced the parts sections, the massive catalog for all the order-in bits. Goodbye Margins.
Then everyone started shopping online. It was hard enough 20+ years ago, when the malls would turn into sea of walking wallets. You don't need guys in a store with a catalog to find that variable resistor or actuator you need for your Sexbot (No sir, that's ok, I don't need to see it when it's completed.... ), and certainly not for batteries, or the same name brand stuff electronics you can find in a Fred Meyer next to the produce section.
I'll always have a soft spot for the place, between Zip-tying meth heads to the balcony when they were stealing the micro butane torches, to the discussion with the customer...
"You REALLY do need a computer between your keyboard and mouse... Yes I understand the gentleman at Goodwill told you you could go online to type your term paper... Ma'am, I know he said we could tell you how to hook them up, and what you need is a PC to do it... Absolutely! Let me give you the District Manager's direct line. "
You think these sorts of things are just bad IT jokes until you live it.
It was a good run, someone get 'ol Painless and take RS behind the shed.
On the post: Can You Defame Someone By
DirectlyCreatively 'Quoting' Them? New York Court Says You Can."Lets eat Grandma!"
"Lets eat, Grandma!"
On the post: Our Response To The Latest Ridiculous Legal Threat Against Us: Milorad Trkulja Can Go Pound Sand
Re: Re:Page 9
On the post: Our Response To The Latest Ridiculous Legal Threat Against Us: Milorad Trkulja Can Go Pound Sand
It's called due diligence. Good way to avoid Streisanding yourself
On the post: ESPN Ignored Cord Cutting Threat, Paid For It With Huge Viewership Losses
3 kids, and they haven't had to deal with commercial TV in 8 years or so.
Only thing my wife and I watch "live" now is Adult Swim. Don't care for most sports, Cable news is a joke, and the "educational" channels are more of a joke than the news.
Only reason we still have any traditional cable is that my 58 year old, recovering-from-multiple-strokes-and-organ-shutdown Mother in Law likes it, and even SHE has learned how to stream Netflix from her phone to the Chromecast/Fire stick. few more weeks and we'll cut everything but Internet.
So close.
On the post: Clinging To Relevance, Yahoo Prevents Ad Block Users From Checking Yahoo Mail
I've had my Rocketmail address since 1996, and I'm loathe to relinquish it.
I have Yahoo locked down into "classic" mode, (no widgets or extras, but it works!) no Flash and no Java, and Adblock running on every single site (except Techdirt!)
I've seen no change in my stripped Yahoo mail. Of course, it's barely more than a field of white and some text now.
On the post: AT&T Lawyers Want You To Know That AT&T's CEO Will Never Listen To Customer Suggestions
In ATT's defense... I received a similar E-mail from Taco Bell years ago when asking them to consider making a taco with just black beans and potatoes in it. (not Vegetarian, just not into giant wads of grease)
It's a little sad that our society is so litigious that companies can't risk listening to their customers on the off chance that a particular customer will sue for stealing their idea if you use it.
Still a piss-poor choice to let the lawyer handle it like that.
On the post: Yeah, Russia Probably Forged A Weapons Cache Supposedly From The US Using A Video Game To Model The Weapons
Our military labels Claymore mines "do not eat".
Why would they notice what labels appear on missiles?
On the post: Top RIAA Exec: There's No More Music In Africa And The Middle East Because They Need Stronger Copyright
(Hey guys, if you're reading this, family is good, Hope you make it back here eventually!)
They would be rather shocked to hear that Turkewitz does not apparently consider their work music.
One of the best conversations I've had in my life, (once they realized I could understand most of their French) and explained to them that the country is not ruled by the Pres, (GW at the time) and that half of us always disagree with the other half, openly, and consistently.
Oddly enough, Copyright was never one of the topics.
On the post: Sculptor Says 'Capitalism' Drives His Aggressive Enforcement Of Rights To Publicly-Funded 'Portlandia' Statue
Copyright aside. it's a beautiful statue even though she looks like she's rolling dice.
On the post: Sculptor Says 'Capitalism' Drives His Aggressive Enforcement Of Rights To Publicly-Funded 'Portlandia' Statue
Copyright it's a beautiful statue even though she looks like she's rolling dice.
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